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5.10.2011

Steel-Cut Oats

Looking for a hearty, nutty, and delicious breakfast? You're in luck! We all know (and hopefully love!) good old oats of the rolled and quick-cooking variety. Well steel-cut oats are a more complete and wholesome version of the whole grain oat kernel. They take a bit longer to prepare but have many more health benefits for the breakfaster and a lot more texture and flavor.

Steel-cut oats can either be soaked before cooking or prepared dry, but the drier they come, the longer the cooking process. I didn't plan ahead very well in my attempts to prepare these oats for the first time so I did it the long way and simmered the oats in salted water for about 25 minutes (Wikipedia recommends anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes). Since these are such a filling meal, I only prepared about 1/4 cup of the oats with approximately 1 1/2 cups of water. A few stirs throughout the cooking process is all you really need to ensure that your oats turn out just right.

With a little added sweetness and whatever variety of fruits, nuts, and seeds you prefer to add, steel-cut oats can be transformed into a most delicious and flavorful breakfast to fit anyone's taste! I added some peanut butter, a little bit of agave syrup, cinnamon, raisins, and flaked coconut. These oats have a bit more bite and texture to them than traditional oatmeal, so they're a great alternative for people who turn their noses up at mushy foods. And they've got plenty of nutty flavor all on their own, so you don't even need to add toppings and such to make it edible. All in all, I'd say this is my new go-to breakfast food!

4 comments:

I bought a box of steel cut oats and I STILL haven't cracked it open yet. I think it's because I never tend to plan out my breakfasts in advance, so a 30 minute cooking time would be too long for me :) I really should try this soon, though, since I love oatmeal!